Indian Country Awaits the Sentencing on June 30th of Prominent Republican Power Broker

Coachella, CA, June 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Professor David Alan Heslop, a major Republican power broker for
decades in California and nationally, will be sentenced on a
bribery conviction on June 30th, 2014 in Los Angeles
Federal District Court. Heslop has plead guilty to conspiracy to
commit bribery, cheating the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission
Indians Tribe out of millions of dollars related to construction
and real estate transactions. Gary Edward Kovall, the Tribe's
outside attorney and Paul Phillip Bardos, a general contractor from
Rancho Cucamonga, have also plead guilty to felony conduct related
to the scheme (Bardos for felony tax evasion).

The Tribe stated that as an advisor to Presidents Ronald Regan
and George H.W. Bush, Heslop used his political prominence to lure
them into hiring him as a real estate advisor. In fact, Heslop the
self-styled "advisor to kings" orchestrated multiple fraudulent
transactions unbeknownst to the Tribe to line his pockets with
hundreds of thousands of dollars of the Tribe's money. The Tribe
calculates its damages from the fraudulent conspiracy at more than
$20 million.

Kovall, the outside attorney for the Tribe, negotiated multiple
construction contracts with Bardos, who in turn, kicked back
hundreds of thousands of dollars to Heslop who then forwarded
hundreds of thousands of dollars to Kovall and his wife.

Darrell Mike, Tribal Chairman for Twenty-Nine Palms Band of
Mission Indians, comments: "This case represents the largest rip
off of an Indian Tribe since the Jack Abramoff scandal. Indian
Tribal leadership in this country has been abused for 300 years and
has not had the educational advantages of sophisticated
whites. We rely upon highly educated professionals to be
honest and to guide us through many legal and business activities.
The extent and premeditation by these dishonest outside advisors
was shocking and extremely disheartening."

Chairman Mike went on to comment: "Tribes throughout the Country
and those supporting fair treatment for Native Americans are very
hopeful that Judge Kennedy, in sentencing, will send a message that
sophisticated outside professionals cannot exploit Native
Americans. This case is particularly upsetting given the number of
times the coconspirators met with Tribal leadership, looked us
straight in the eye, and lied repeatedly."

Heslop was a professor of Political Science at Claremont McKenna
College for many years and founder of the conservative think tank,
the Rose Institute. Bardos, a former student of Heslop, and Kovall
were all participants in the Institute.

About Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission
Indians:

The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians trace their
origins back to the Chemeheuvi, a peaceful and nomadic tribe whose
territory once covered Utah, Arizona and Southern Nevada. In the
mid - 1800s the Chemeheuvi migrated from Colorado River Valley to
the more remote areas of the Mojave Desert. In 1867, a group of
Chemeheuvi settled at the Oasis of Twenty-Nine Palms. The
Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians are their descendants. As
children of the Wolf, the Band has always drawn upon his strength
and intelligence as well as wit and survival skills of coyote to
endure and sustain themselves. Today the Band's reservation lands
are located near the town of Twenty-Nine Palms where Tortoise Rock
Casino is located, as well as in the City of Coachella, home to the
Tribe's sister casino, Spotlight 29 Casino. The proceeds from both
Tribal casinos help provide housing, education and financial
security for future generations.

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